The focus is on expanding access to treatment, counselling, screening and follow-up services at government healthcare facilities, from district hospitals to primary health centres, officials said on Saturday. The state public health department has directed all districts to strengthen and effectively implement the District Mental Health Programme (DMHP).
Patients with severe mental health conditions were forced to travel hundreds of kilometres for admission and treatment. The shortfall burdened the four regional mental hospitals (RMHs) in Pune, Thane, Nagpur and Ratnagiri, forcing families to travel long distances, incur higher costs, and face difficulty securing admission when patients’ conditions worsen. Patients requiring admission are often referred to these facilities, forcing families to undertake long and costly journeys. Currently, staff appointed under the DMHP programme—including psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, psychiatric nurses and psychiatric social workers—were being utilized for other healthcare services in several districts instead of being dedicated to district-level mental healthcare. Special follow-up should be provided to patients with severe mental illness who may have been deprived of treatment.
The directions followed a Hindustan Times report published on September 6, 2026 titled ‘Maharashtra district hospitals lack psychiatric beds, patients forced to travel hundreds of kilometres’. The article highlighted the lack of functional 10-bed inpatient psychiatric units at the 32 state-run district hospitals. The four regional mental hospitals recorded about 2.29 lakh outpatient and inpatient patients in 2025-26, according to official figures cited in the earlier report. Nagpur recorded 73,208 patients, Pune 64,598, Thane 60,803 and Ratnagiri 30,489, said officials.
A senior official, requesting anonymity, said, “The decision is important given the absence of functional inpatient facilities at district hospitals which has placed additional pressure on the four regional mental hospitals in Pune, Thane, Nagpur and Ratnagiri. However, district healthcare facilities have now started to implement the orders, said Dr Shrinivas Kolod, Additional Director (mental health) and chief executive officer of the State Mental Health Authority, Maharashtra. Kolod said District authorities have been asked to ensure screening, diagnosis, treatment, counselling, follow-up and referral services for people with mental health conditions.
